My lunch hour today encapsulated the pure joy of parenthood: I sat rocking our baby, singing to her as she looked up at me. And the songs played:

“I love you more with every breath truly, madly, deeply do…
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning, yeah…
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me”

It’s true you just don’t get it until you have a child, how you can love them so much. It truly is a new beginning. I often feel I can stay in that chair forever with my daughter laying on my chest, rocking her to sleep.

“An angel when she smiled…
Baby blue was the color of her eyes
Baby lea like the Colorado skies…
She brought colors to my life
That my eyes have never touched
When she taught me how to care
I’ve never cared so much”

We were surprised and pleased to see our daughter’s blue eyes. Growing up, my Granny always told me how special it was to her that I had her eyes. I now understand.

“Don’t know how I got you
But I couldn’t ask for more
Girl, what we got’s worth thanking God for
So, thank God
I get to wake up by your side
And thank God
Your hand fits perfectly in mine…
Thank God for giving me you”

My heart melts every time she grabs onto my finger. We are just so utterly grateful to have our baby girl.

“That kind that only comes once in your life…
Boom-boom-boom, boom-boom), you make me
(Ba-da-da-da, ba, ba, ba-da-da-da, ba, ba) you
make me, make me happy”

Just your child existing makes you happy, and you can sit in peace appreciating that over and over.

“May the good Lord be with you down every
road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness surround
you when you’re far from home
And may you grow to be proud, dignified
and true
And do unto others as you’d have done to
you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you’ll always stay
Forever young…
And when you finally fly away, I’ll be hoping
that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime, no one can
ever tell
But whatever road you choose, I’m right
behind you win or lose
Forever young”

You wish and hope for all the best for your child, knowing one day it will be on them to make their way in the world. I suspect she will always be my baby girl to me.

What’s the point of all this? I guess it’s knowing that so many other millions of people around the world feel something similar.

This experience of parenthood is universal: the love you feel for your children, the fact all cultures have children, that we all want the next generation to do well. It’s a series of miracles happening all around the planet.

We have so much to be grateful for as a species, and we have this one opportunity to emit light, to make beautiful music, to live. We’re all sharing the same playlist.